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Prince Nuada
Prince Nuada (or simply Nuada) is the prince of the Bethmoora clan (aka The Sons of the Earth), and also the main antagonist of the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Despite being an antagonist, he's not completely evil. Personality Nuada was a complex character. His desire to better the lives of his people and the lives of other magical races were by no means evil, but his plans to achieve this and hatred of all humankind were more malevolent. Nuada was a fierce and courageous warrior and proud of his heritage. His hatred of humans stems from the devastating war between them and his own race, as well as the humans destruction of the planet. Although his intentions were noble, Nuada was still willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve his goals and had no issue whatsoever with killing potentially millions of humans, many of whom were innocent or ignorant of the crimes against his people, or with killing anyone who got in his way. He was even willing to kill his own father, whom he professed to love, and use his beloved sister in his plans, letting nothing deter him. Nuada was reasonably intelligent and could be quite cunning and manipulative, which he used to his full advantage. He was vengeful, stubborn to a fault and genuinely believed his actions would lead to a better world, seeming to be of the opinion that 'the ends would justify the means'. Nuala was the person Nuada seemed to love most in the world - he seemed genuinely concerned when his own injuries affected her and was caring of her. He seemed shocked and hurt when Nuala - in his eyes - betrayed him in the end, his last words being "Nuala, my sister". It is hinted throughout the film (and explicitly stated by Luke Goss, the actor who portrays him) that Nuada's feelings for Nuala go beyond that of familial love and that actually he harboured an incestous romantic attraction towards her (which Nuala did not reciprocate). This is implied by his overly close proximity to her in their scenes together and by his reaction to her burgeoning relationship with Abe Sapien, which some felt was closer to that of a jealous lover than an overprotective brother. Despite his flaws, Nuada did had good traits. He seemed very tolerant and accepting of other races (save for humans), clearly loved his sister and was also genuinely caring towards his followers, in particular Mr Wink. He attempted to sway Hellboy to his way of thinking, believing that the humans would never accept them and that he had more in common with Nuada than them. It is implied that he doesn't harm animals as he killed the guards outside the BPRD building but spared the guard dog. However, his narrow-sightedness when it came to humans - believing them all to be monsters incapable of reasoning and tolerance - obsession with vengeance and inability to let go of his rage and bitterness ultimately made him a villainous character and lead to his downfall. History According to the beliefs of the magical realm, humans and the races of elves, goblins, ogres, fairies, trolls, and other creatures once lived in harmony. The greed of humanity, however, caused a great desire for conquest in them and they warred against the mystical woodland creatures. King Balor, who ruled the elves and the magical races (Prince Nuada's father), watched his people undergo slaughter at the hands of the humans. Nuada likely participated in the battles and, as seen at the beginning of the film Hellboy II: The Golden Army, bears many scars on his back and shoulders from battling for the protection of his kind. One day, a master goblin blacksmith came to King Balor to offer the construction of a mechanical army -- the Golden Army. Nuada persuaded his father to accept the offer. The Golden Army then butchered the humans, not dividing innocent from warrior or male from female or adult from child. The destruction, Balor realized, surpassed what the humans had done to them. Horrified by this massacre, the King sealed the Golden Army away and declared a truce with humanity by dividing the magic crown controlling them into three pieces; keeping two for the elves and giving one to humanity. Nuada was enraged by this act, believing not only that the humans could not be trusted, but that he could have commanded the army more efficiently. He went into self-imposed exile, swearing to return the day when his people would most need him. Alongside him was his companion, a one-eyed one tusked cave troll named Mr. Wink, as he prepared for the day when he would rise up once more. Nuada trod the earth pondering his own life and watching the lives of man and magical creature. The prince saw mankind slaughter one another in the name of greed and watched all the other magical races receded into obscurity. Resolved that he must end the silent destruction of the magical world and sensing that the planet was reaching a crossroads leading to destruction (in the movie novelization Nuada references that the wiser humans have sensed the need to act as well, possibly commenting on the fact he was aware of environmentalist activity, but was not impressed enough with it to find humans worth saving at all). He decided to reclaim the Golden Army and do what should have been done centuries before. The prince tracked the crown until, centuries later, he followed it into an auction house to steal it. He then proceeded to kill the entire attendance of the auction by releasing a swarm of Tooth Fairies and leaving behind two markings that would symbolize to humanity that he had declared war. He went to his father's palace and revealed his intention to re-awaken the Golden Army and wage war on the human world. He pointed out the humans' commercialization, conquest, and 'rape' of the world. He knew that the magical races will fade and points out that they are already living in squalor and have nowhere else to go. Then the king, willing to resign themselves to such a fate years before relocating to the Americas, decided to have his son executed. Nuada, heartbroken (knowing that his father is also killing his innocent twin sister, Nuala) then killed all the guards in the room, before taking his father's life. He wept momentarily and claimed his father's piece of the crown, then turned around, but his sister was gone along with the last crown piece. While preparing an odd seed of life in a mechanical holder (Nuada was apparently versed in goblin machinery and tinkering), Nuada heard from a two-headed creature that his servant Mr. Wink was defeated by Hellboy. Furious, Nuada came up to the surface to kill Hellboy and unleash the seed into a forest god that would purge the area of humans and their buildings. When Hellboy aims to destroy the 'forest god' or 'forest elemental', Nuada taunted him to either spare or kill the towering tree, for it was the last of its kind. He said Hellboy had more in common with the magical beings than the humans. The forest spirit was killed and Nuada disappeared as his sister, still bearing her own crown piece and determined to keep her brother from succeeding, followed along with Hellboy and the BPRD agents around him, specifically Abraham Sapien. Nuada tracked his sister to BPRD headquarters. She attempted to burn the map leading to Bethmoora that would give him the secret location of the Golden Army. However, Nuada revealed that the real map was on the canister she obtained, not the paper map as she had presumed. Hellboy tried to fight the bellicose prince, but is thoroughly thrashed and mortally wounded by the cunning Nuada. He wounded the demon with a shard of his magical silver spear (apparently the reason for his film-based epithet, Silverlance). He took his sister, demanding to Abe Sapien, with whom Nuala had become very fond and tender, to give him the last piece of the crown since it remained hidden in the BPRD library. He vanished with Nuala and traveled to the resting place of the Golden Army. Fearing for Nuala's life, Abe and the others followed to Ireland where Hellboy was healed. To the dismay of the others, Abe had brought the last piece of the crown and gave it willingly to Nuada, who awakened the Golden Army. Hellboy and the others attempt to fight them, but are outnumbered considerably, and the soldiers magically repair themselves. Hellboy, a prince of sorts himself, challenged Nuada's right to the crown in a duel (Nuala reminded her brother that the demon was considered royalty in Sheol). After a fierce fight, Hellboy claimed victory without claiming Nuada's life, but the prince would not live so disgraced. He attempted to attack Hellboy with his back turned, only for his sister to take her life to end his, stabbing herself with a dagger. Dying, Nuada warns Hellboy that his place is not among humans and he will never be accepted by them. He mourned and stated that the world would be poorer for losing both himself and his sister. Nuada then walks away towards the balcony his sister is laying on in Abe's arms. Uttering the last words "Nuala, my sister", Nuada turns to stone, falls to his knees and crumbles into pieces. Category:Main Antagonists Category:Antagonists Category:Villains Category:Live-action characters